The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

When you read this, you can see why it won the Nobel Prize for Literature. If you have previously read Hemingway novels such as 'Death in the Afternoon' and been deterred by his seemingly masculinist subject matter, do not let the idea of fishing in this novel put you off. The tale is of an aged Cuban fisherman, down on his luck and empty-pocketed. It focuses around his catch of a huge marlin and the battle to land the fish. As I said though, Hemingway is not trying to portray violent and masculine values here and this is clear when you meet the character of the Old Man: '"I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing," the ...  Read the complete review

The Old Man of the Sea is as much about being macho as anything else. What does a really strong man do? He goes see and fights the elements..he's a fisherman! This Hemmingway novel won its author the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. It tells the tale of an old Cuban fisherman who never has much luck. The only thing he has in the world is the love of a young boy. His arch enemy is a huge marlin that pits its strength again him on a daily basis until, inevitably, the old man wins and kills it. You need to read this book a couple of times to get the feel of it as there is a lot more meaning to the story than is apparent at first! ...  Read the complete review

I would imagine that of all great twentieth century writers, Hemingway is the one most likely to be doomed to an unread future in the twenty-first century. The endless emphasis on masculinity, the spare, rather mannered prose, the obsession with manly pursuits like bull-fighting and fishing. The best Hemingway is a short story or piece of non-fiction (there's an account of a boxing match he wrote which embodies all of his strengths in a few pages). 'The Old Man and the Sea' is barely long enough to be considered a novel, and it's still way way too long. It's a pared-down study of man against the elements, an old cuban fisherman struggling ...  Read the complete review